Keyboard Shortcuts
ctrl + shift + ? :
Show all keyboard shortcuts
ctrl + g :
Navigate to a group
ctrl + shift + f :
Find
ctrl + / :
Quick actions
esc to dismiss
Likes
- Electronics101
- Messages
Search
|
Oscilloscope with LED-Matrix?
I would like to know if someone has done it or, at least, tested (mathematically,) the idea of, with an appropriate size led-matrix, construct a 'kind' of oscilloscope & for what range of frequencies it's useful?
The idea occurred to me the other day while browsing this very site when I stumbled into a post of a matrix of leds. Sorry, don't remember what was the purpose of the circuit nor the amount of leds involved. Thanks in advanced for any comments on the subject! Note: If it can be done with a frequency response of at least 250 KHz it has potential practical uses! |
|
Re: Buddy's trolling motor
James M. \(Jim\) Geidl
Careful guys, you aren't going to want to pot, or goo if you are more
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
technical, the heat sink. It needs to have lots of airflow. James "Jim" M. Geidl, K6JMG No trees were harmed in the sending of this message; however, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced. -----Original Message----- |
|
Re: Selecting microcontroller for hobby projects - opinions wanted.
meredith_garniss
I'm going to second the Arduino (AVR) suggestion. The arduino microcontroller is easy to learn, is open source hardware, has the usb capabilities including an available breakout board, is programmed with some limited subset of C , has a free IDE that works on Mac, PC or Linux, and is dirt cheap.
As a bonus, since the Arduino board is open source, there are other IDEs that will work with it in other languages, such as RoR. And if you blow up your board you can always buy another one for less than $20. If there is a local hackerspace in the area, pay them a visit and see what they are using. Your local hackerspace will probably be able to get you up and runninng on the Arduino platform quickly and show you some examples. There's a reason the platform is so popular. Meredith G. www.6smith.com |
|
Re: Selecting microcontroller for hobby projects - opinions wanted.
--- In Electronics_101@..., "John T. Blair" <jblair1948@...> wrote:
Just curious, and looking for something to do with one, if I spent the money toI am a code weenie at heart so I may not actuslly DO anything with them. I might just write little samples or copy code projects I find on the Internet. I have used them for small robots, a controller for a 12' battery powered launch (a real boat controlled by a joystick), an interface between an FPGA project and the local area network, an interface between a PS2 controller and a PC, a controller for a 5 DOF robotic arm (Lynxmotion) with a PS2 control (VERY MUCH like the cover project for the Feb 2011 issue of Servo Magazine), a servo control for a pan/tilt camera using a Wii nunchuk for input; stuff like that. One project used a Blackfin microcontroller (VERY FAST 16 bit uC) to grab test vectors (data) from an FTP server running on my desktop, jam them into an FPGA implementation of a PDP11-45 arithmetic unit via the SPI protocol, retrieve the results and print diagnostic messages to a console session on the desktop. I also like hardware design so I an interested in the differences among the various microcontrollers. They're just toys; I like to play with them. Richard |
|
Re: Buddy's trolling motor
Harold Darter
Hey Yan,
"If the motor is OK, then get yourself a PWM controller, pot it in your choise of goo, and have at it. Virtualvillage.com had 30A PWM controllers for soemthing like $20 one time... Here's one from QKits. The heat sink might be a bit of a challenge if you want to pot it." Thanks for the idea. I believe you have discovered Plan B. Hal _____ From: Electronics_101@... [mailto:Electronics_101@...] On Behalf Of Yan Seiner Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2011 5:21 PM To: Electronics_101@... Subject: Re: [Electronics_101] Re: Buddy's trolling motor Harold Darter wrote: If the motor is OK, then get yourself a PWM controller, pot it in your choise of goo, and have at it. Virtualvillage.com had 30A PWM controllers for soemthing like $20 one time... Here's one from QKits. The heat sink might be a bit of a challenge if you want to pot it. --Yan -- o__ ,>/'_ o__ (_)\(_) ,>/'_ o__ A day may come (_)\(_) ,>/'_ o__ when the courage of men fails, (_)\(_) ,>/'_ when we forsake our friends and break all (_)\(_) bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. It is not this day! This day we ride! |
|
Re: Selecting microcontroller for hobby projects - opinions wanted.
everyone seems to have forgotten PICAXE.......I haven't. I mentioned it.? I really am chopped liver around here. ;-) ===== Really easy to use, very cheap (UK Government subsidy),But still BASIC.? I have no problem with it.? But it seems others might think so. ==== no programmer needed,It needs a serial (RS232) connection.? Most new computers (especially laptops) don't have SERIAL ports.? There seems to be some limitations on what kind of USB-Serial converter may and may not work: ==== By the way, how is it that the PicAxe can communicate using RS232 standard (negative voltage levels) without a converter? Jong |
|
Re: Buddy's trolling motor
Yan Seiner
Harold Darter wrote:
If the motor is OK, then get yourself a PWM controller, pot it in your choise of goo, and have at it. Virtualvillage.com had 30A PWM controllers for soemthing like $20 one time... Here's one from QKits. The heat sink might be a bit of a challenge if you want to pot it. --Yan -- o__ ,>/'_ o__ (_)\(_) ,>/'_ o__ A day may come (_)\(_) ,>/'_ o__ when the courage of men fails, (_)\(_) ,>/'_ when we forsake our friends and break all (_)\(_) bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. It is not this day! This day we ride! |
|
Re: Selecting microcontroller for hobby projects - opinions wanted.
James M. \(Jim\) Geidl
John,
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
I play at robotics and use the mcu for the brains of my robots. Before you buy one at Radio Shack be sure and compare prices on the Internet. James "Jim" M. Geidl, K6JMG No trees were harmed in the sending of this message; however, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced. -----Original Message----- |
|
Re: Buddy's trolling motor
At 13:14 30 01 11, James M. \(Jim\) Geidl wrote:
The goo may be waterproofing rather than anything else. In a wet environment, especially where the wet may be (conductive) salt water, that seems entirely reasonable. Proprietary-protective/anti-tamper goo is usually hard epoxy. Reese |
|
Re: Selecting microcontroller for hobby projects - opinions wanted.
John T. Blair
At 05:12 PM 1/30/2011, Andy Mathison wrote:
everyone seems to have forgotten PICAXE.......Really easy to use, very cheapsmaller ones with less.....lots of support, pcbs, and third party units, all over theworld..... All this discussion on the micro controllers sound really neat. I've wanted to try and play with one, and been looking at a couple. Radio Shack had a Basic stamp kit and ARRL had a PIC (don't remember what now) with a fairly large book to go along with it. I was wondering what you all are using them for. I can see if you're a design engineer for an appliance company and need something for your stove, refig, or microwave. But what are the hobbiest doing with them? Just curious, and looking for something to do with one, if I spent the money to play with one. John John T. Blair WA4OHZ email: jblair1948@... Va. Beach, Va Phone: (757) 495-8229 48 TR1800 48 #4 Midget 65 Morgan 4/4 Series V (B1106) 75 Bricklin SV1 (#0887) 77 Spitfire 71 Saab Sonett III 65 Rambler Classic Morgan: www.team.net/www/morgan Bricklin: www.bricklin.org If you can read this - Thank a teacher! If you are reading it in English - Thank a Vet!! |
|
Re: Selecting microcontroller for hobby projects - opinions wanted.
James M. \(Jim\) Geidl
Andy,
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
You are correct, the picaxe chips are very nice. Picaxe seems to be making a very conscious thrust into the market. I see a lot more "conversation" about them and most of it is great. This is also US distribution but I can't remember the name of the company that does it. Shouldn't be too hard to find on the 'net. James "Jim" M. Geidl, K6JMG No trees were harmed in the sending of this message; however, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced. -----Original Message----- |
|
Re: Selecting microcontroller for hobby projects - opinions wanted.
Andrewdavid.mathison
Hi Vaclav
everyone seems to have forgotten PICAXE.......Really easy to use, very cheap (UK Government subsidy), no programmer needed, all software is free to download, great Forum, really fast chips with a lot of I/O or smaller ones with less.....lots of support, pcbs, and third party units, all over the world..... Click here:- Greetings from Andy Mathison |
|
Re: Buddy's trolling motor
Harold Darter
Hey Jong,
"Sounds like a good project to build your own (gutting the troller and just using the motor, throttle, etc.) I'm now assuming the problem is the PC board." That's right. My plan is to find the problem with the board. Then come back to the group and come up with a way to protect the component or group of components that continually fail. If that doesn't work then it's off to plan b. I'm not sure what that is yet. This is a pricy unit and I would hate to see my friend lose his investment. Hal _____ From: Electronics_101@... [mailto:Electronics_101@...] On Behalf Of jong kung Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2011 1:33 PM To: Electronics_101@... Subject: RE: [Electronics_101] Re: Buddy's trolling motor "P.S. May I ask what is the component in question ?" monitors the batteries and produces the signal for the operator display unit.Sounds like a good project to build your own (gutting the troller and just using the motor, throttle, etc.) I'm now assuming the problem is the PC board. Jong |
|
Re: Buddy's trolling motor
>"P.S. May I ask what is the component in question ?" It reads the throttle position to control the motor speed. It also monitors the batteries and produces the signal for the operator display unit. Sounds like a good project to build your own (gutting the troller and just using the motor, throttle, etc.)? I'm now assuming the problem is the PC board. Jong |
|
Re: Buddy's trolling motor
Harold Darter
Hey Jim,
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
The goo may be waterproofing rather than anything else. I think your right. Being a deterrent to unauthorized repair is probably just an added benefit to the factory. Hal _____ From: Electronics_101@... [mailto:Electronics_101@...] On Behalf Of James M. (Jim) Geidl Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2011 12:15 PM To: Electronics_101@... Subject: RE: [Electronics_101] Re: Buddy's trolling motor The goo may be waterproofing rather than anything else. James "Jim" M. Geidl, K6JMG No trees were harmed in the sending of this message; however, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced. -----Original Message-----<mailto:Electronics_101%40yahoogroups.com> [mailto:Electronics_101@...<mailto:Electronics_101%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of jong kung Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2011 9:02 AM<mailto:Electronics_101%40yahoogroups.com> Subject: RE: [Electronics_101] Re: Buddy's trolling motorThe factory has already told him there is no warranty. ......leads me to believe that the designwas defective. |
|
Re: Buddy's trolling motor
Harold Darter
Hey Steve,
"My experience - just pick it out." This unit is 10" long, 3.5 " wide and the encapsulant (thanks to you I now have a name for it) is .375-.5 thick. Picking out manually could prove a daunting task. I have been reading on the Dow Corning site you provided. It looks promising. So far I haven't found a detailed explanation of how to remove the product. They mention in one of the tutorials to soften the encapsulant with solvent then remove mechanically, but they didn't specify a solvent. I'll read some more and if I don't find it maybe an email will get me the info. Thanks, Steve this was a big help. Hal _____ Reply <mailto:alienrelics@...?subject=Re%3A%20Buddy%27s%20trolling%20motor> to sender | Reply <mailto:Electronics_101@...?subject=Re%3A%20Buddy%27s%20trolling %20motor> to group | Reply <;_ylc=X3oDMTJxbG84a2RpBF9 TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzI5MzgxMjQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA2MDU4MDM3BG1zZ0lkAzY3NTA2BHN lYwNmdHIEc2xrA3JwbHkEc3RpbWUDMTI5NjQxMDQ0OQ--?act=reply&messageNum=67506> via web post | <;_ylc=X3oDMTJlOGcwcmUzBF9 TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzI5MzgxMjQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA2MDU4MDM3BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA25 0cGMEc3RpbWUDMTI5NjQxMDQ0OQ--> Start a New Topic Messages <;_ylc=X3oDMTM2Zm 5xOWVpBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzI5MzgxMjQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA2MDU4MDM3BG1zZ0lkAz Y3NTA2BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA3Z0cGMEc3RpbWUDMTI5NjQxMDQ0OQR0cGNJZAM2NzQ5Mg--> in this topic (8) Recent Activity: * <;_ylc=X3oDMTJmdGVhajVi BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzI5MzgxMjQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA2MDU4MDM3BHNlYwN2dGwEc2xr A3ZtYnJzBHN0aW1lAzEyOTY0MTA0NDk-?o=6> New Members 7 * <;_ylc=X3oDMTJmcXBwMXRtBF 9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzI5MzgxMjQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA2MDU4MDM3BHNlYwN2dGwEc2xrA3 ZwaG90BHN0aW1lAzEyOTY0MTA0NDk-> New Photos 1 * <;_ylc=X3oDMTJnaDczNm8wBF 9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzI5MzgxMjQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA2MDU4MDM3BHNlYwN2dGwEc2xrA3 ZmaWxlcwRzdGltZQMxMjk2NDEwNDQ5> New Files 2 <;_ylc=X3oDMTJlYmJjaDVyBF9TAzk3 MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzI5MzgxMjQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA2MDU4MDM3BHNlYwN2dGwEc2xrA3ZnaHAE c3RpbWUDMTI5NjQxMDQ0OQ--> Visit Your Group Please trim excess when replying <;_ylc=X3oDMTJkdmR2YWM1BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzI5M zgxMjQEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA2MDU4MDM3BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA2dmcARzdGltZQMxMjk2NDEwNDQ5> Yahoo! Groups Switch to: <mailto:Electronics_101-traditional@...?subject=Change%20Deliver y%20Format:%20Traditional> Text-Only, <mailto:Electronics_101-digest@...?subject=Email%20Delivery:%20D igest> Daily Digest . <mailto:Electronics_101-unsubscribe@...?subject=Unsubscribe> Unsubscribe . <> Terms of Use . < =67506/stime=1296410449/nc1=1/nc2=2/nc3=3> |
|
Re: Buddy's trolling motor
Harold Darter
_____
From: Electronics_101@... [mailto:Electronics_101@...] On Behalf Of jong kung Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2011 11:03 AM To: Electronics_101@... Subject: RE: [Electronics_101] Re: Buddy's trolling motor Hey Jong, "I don't know about reapplying it but acetone often melts (dissolves) a lot of "goo". Try some small sample." Reese just recommended solvent and I think both of you are on the right tract. I have started looking on chemical manufacturer sites to try and find similar products. Hopefully that will lead to the correct solvent. "P.S. May I ask what is the component in question ?" It reads the throttle position to control the motor speed. It also monitors the batteries and produces the signal for the operator display unit. Hal ==== I cut a small piece of it off (It cut very easily) and tried my hot airgun on it. It bubbled and smoked but didn't melt.I guess that is the point of the goo - to prevent prying eyes from inspection (learning / copying) the design. Jong P.S. May I ask what is the component in question ? |
|
Re: Buddy's trolling motor
Harold Darter
Hey Reese,
"That seems like a method unlikely to produce satisfactory results anyway. Short of careful temperature controls and peeling the coating away before it smokes and bubbles. Soften it but don't melt it, IOW." I agree. After seeing its reaction to heat I doubt that it will work even in a controlled situation. Plus I have no idea how much heat the electrolytic caps will stand. They would seem the most velnurable. "Be careful not to use anything that would be damaging to the circuit board, the components or their markings. Alcohol, maybe. Or a paint thinner such as Xylene, perhaps. Section off a small piece and see any of several solvents dissolve it. Then test those solvents on some other, sacrificial components to see if they remain viable. I'd try gasoline if nothing else works. I would not try lacquer thinner, I think that'll remove the component markings. But if it is rubbery and cuts easily, I'd try dissolving it with a solvent. Xylene might also." MG Chemicals has a couple of products that sound similar. They are both a naphtha, rubber solvent chemical. I will cut off another piece and try it in naphtha first. Thanks for the help. Hal _____ Reese |
|
Re: Buddy's trolling motor
James M. \(Jim\) Geidl
The goo may be waterproofing rather than anything else.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
James "Jim" M. Geidl, K6JMG No trees were harmed in the sending of this message; however, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced. -----Original Message----- |
|
Re: Buddy's trolling motor
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
--- In Electronics_101@..., "AlienRelics" <alienrelics@...> wrote:
|
Steven AE7HD
to navigate to use esc to dismiss